A shared practice
Counting Each Exhale
S
Created bySean Fargo
Part 5 of Sean's sleep series — recorded in his own voice.
In Sean Fargo’s own voice8 min
Read along — the full script
I'm Sean Fargo. One of the ways that we can fall asleep faster and with more ease is to get out of our heads and into our bodies. Great way to do this is to bring attention to our breath and to cultivate a sense of concentration by counting our breaths in the same way that a lot of people count sheep jumping over the fence in their imagination.
Instead of this imaginative head-based exercise of counting sheep, we're gonna bring our attention into our bodies by feeling the rise and fall of our belly as we breathe, and we'll count our breaths one through ten and then from ten to one. Every time we feel distracted or lose count, that's fine, perfectly normal. We'll simply bring our attention back to number one in a kind and gentle way, trying not to get frustrated or agitated because we lost count, but simply recognizing it as an opportunity to see if we can get up to ten and get back down to one with each exhale.
Wanna try it? Let's start by either laying down, perhaps you're ready to go to sleep right now, or you can do it standing up or sitting down, but finding a posture that feels relaxed and alert. If you're laying down, it can be helpful to have your legs and feet outstretched with your back on the bed or the ground and your hands on your belly.
Some people prefer to have one hand on the belly and another hand on the heart. Whatever feels comfortable for you. But first, start by taking a deep breath and having a long exhale. Relaxing the body. Soften any areas of tightness or constriction.
Loosen your shoulders, the muscles of the face. Inviting a sense of ease and relaxation. And with one or both hands on your belly, start to notice the rise and fall of the belly as you breathe naturally. Can notice the movement of the hand as it goes up and down on the belly.
Now we'll start this exercise by breathing in and counting one on the exhale. Breathing in again and counting two on the next exhale. Three. Four. Going at your own pace. Staying with the counting. Breathing naturally. As you get close to ten, just go back down from ten to nine down to one.
Staying with the counting. With each exhale. If you lose focus, you can start again at one. With a sense of kindness and gentleness. Breath by breath. Feeling each breath with your belly and with your hands. One by one. Breath by breath.
From one to ten and ten to one and one to ten and ten to one.
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